Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed within this application are directed to betting games and apparatuses where physical chips are used and stored.
Background of the Prior Art
Every year tens of millions of people from all over the world descend upon casinos in such locales as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macau and Monaco in order to gamble their money. They play popular games such as poker, blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat. These games invariably use chips that correspond with different monetary amounts. The chips are stored on racks at the tables where the different games are played. When a player sits at a table to play a game he may present his chip to indicate the amount he is betting. After a game is completed, these chips can be exchanged with the house or other players, depending on who the winner is.
While these players understand that they risk their money for the potential reward of winning these games, they do not need additional risks to their health based on the germs on the chips. Dealers and other casino employees may be familiar with the risk based on their daily experience with chips in the unique environment found at many casinos and some studies have indicated that such dealers have greater sickness and absence rates than the general population. However, the general public has become increasingly aware of this risk and is concerned with it.
The environment present at casinos is unique and a cause for concern. First, casinos attract large numbers of gamblers from all over the country, and sometimes from all over the world. For example, Las Vegas is ranked as one of the top tourist destination worldwide. The more exotic the visitors, the greater the potential for different bacterium and germs to be found.
Second, the casino floors are a closed environment. Unlike a healthier outdoor setting, casinos do not typically have windows or natural sunlight on the game floors. The casino floors also do not have clean air circulating through them. Natural sunlight can kill some germs in the air and fresh air from outside the casino could replace germs and bacteria.
Researchers have actually inspected different casinos and found empirical evidence of different germs present at Las Vegas casinos. A 2007 study by Bluff Magazine was conducted by collecting chips from different casinos using sterilized gloves. After collecting the chips and allowing them to incubate the researchers inspected them for different microorganisms.
The most common bacterium that the researchers detected was staphylococcus or “staph.” It can cause serious skin infections, pimples and boils.
Another germ that was found is Bacillus anthracis. This can cause food poisoning.
In light of the foregoing, casinos and gamblers have begun to approach this problem in different ways. First, casinos can wash the chips in different solutions or rub them with alcohol. While this may be feasible to do occasionally before certain key events such as a major gambling competition, it is not something that can be done on a regular basis such as a weekly or monthly basis. Another disadvantage with this approach is that the customer does not know when the chips were last cleaned and therefore may be worried and hesitant to gamble.
Another approach is to provide gamblers with a sterilized latex glove. While this may fit with some cultures in the world it may seem strange to gamblers who have been “regulars” at casinos in the United States and Las Vegas in particular.
A third approach that currently exists involves hand sanitizers. These are ubiquitous in the United States and effective so there would be no hesitation based on cultural norms. However, there is an expense associated with providing and replacing these at every table and therefore gamblers are typically forced to bring their own sanitizer with them.